Could someone tell me more about the Canon zr800 and why the "widescreen" footage is 853 x 480?

Is this faux-HD for consumers?

Is this a (sub)standard HD aspect ratio?

Thoughts?

I am not a fan of faking HD.

Thanks. :)

Hmmm, 853 x 480 scales-down nicely to 480 x 270... But still... Is 853 x 480 considered to be low-end or faux-end HD? :D

It's not HD, or pretending to be HD. 853x480 is the resolution of true widescreen SD. The ZR800 is an SD camera, no questions about it.

Wide screen footage on ANY miniDV camcorder is 720x480 (same as 4x3) with a pixel aspect ratio of 1.2 (0.9 for 4x3). Now if your video player software can't play properly wide screen on your computer, then you have to resize to 853x480 square pixels.

Good grief, would be nice to get a Canon HD camera for $200! The ZR800 is the cheapest of the cheap SD camera! You have to open your wallet about 5 times wider to get the least expensive miniDV HD camcorder.

Wide screen footage on ANY miniDV camcorder is 720x480 (same as 4x3) with a pixel aspect ratio of 1.2 (0.9 for 4x3). Now if your video player software can't play properly wide screen on your computer, then you have to resize to 853x480 square pixels.

And even if you shoot anamorphic wide screen SD with the 1.2 PAR, any graphic elements included such as titles or stills have to be sized to 853x480 because they all use square pixels. That being said, I use 854 for the horizontal because the compression algorithms like things evenly divisible by 8.

-gb-

Chris, Ervin, and Greg -- many many many thanks for the fast replies! Very informative.

I did not realize there was a SD widescreen format.

Just to clarify: Is 853 x 480 considered to be "anamorphic wide screen SD"?

I was using Quicktime Pro to view the video... When I got the video info, I think it said "853 x 480 (720 x 480)"... Why does it put the second ratio in parenthesis? Why does it have both ratios?

Greg, could you give me a bit more info about your workflow? Maybe an example of when/why/how you resize your graphic elements? Are you talking about when you edit in an application like Final Cut Pro/Premiere?

Sorry if odd questions... I am just used to working with SD (720 x 480) and/or HD (1440 x 1080) footage.

Again, many thanks!!!!

For an excellent explanation of the different formats, aspect ratios, and more, see http://www.helerab.fi/widescreen/

Ervin, thanks! Great linkage.

Do you (or any other folks) have more links like that? Is there a links thread around here?

Thanks again Ervin!

Cheers,
M

A good place to start for understanding the basics: http://www.adobe.com/motion/primers.html

Ervin... You rock! Thanks!!! :)

Thanks all, I really appreciate the help.

Have a great night/day.

Cheers,
M